Circuits

555 Timer Blinky

Makej Projects

555 Timer Blinky

Written By: Brian Jepson

PARTS:

Getting Started with Soldering Kit (1)

SUMMARY

In this project, you'll learn how to solder together a battery-powered, 555 Timer-driven blinky
toy.

Step 1 — 555 Timer Blinky

• Check the kit to make sure you
have two LEDs, the 555 timer, a
capacitor, the four resistors shown,
and a battery box. You'll need to
supply a small amount of hookup
wire.

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555 Timer Blinky

Step 2

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• Place the protoboard in the helping
hands in the orientation shown
here.

• To solder each component, you'll
keep the board in the helping hands
and roll it over, away from you so
that it's reversed and upside down.
• In this guide, we'll show the top

view of the board on the left and
the reversed view of the board
on the right.

• Place the 555 timer into the
protoboard as shown, paying
attention to the notch in the 555
timer (it should be pointing up).

• Flip the board over and solder the
pads shown on the right-hand side
of the image.

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555 Timer Blinky

Step 3

• Place the 1 megohm resistor
(Brown, Black, Green) into the
board as shown.

• The orientation of the
resistor doesn't matter.

♦ Flip the board over and solder the
resistor into place. Trim the leads
when you're done.

Step 4

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1 Place the second 1 megohm
resistor into the board.

■ Flip the board over, solder the
resistor in place, and trim the
leads.

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555 Timer Blinky

Step 5

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• Insert the capacitor into the board
as shown.

• Like the resistors, the
orientation of this kind of
capacitor doesn't matter.

• Solder the capacitor into place and
trim the leads.

Step 6

• Prepare a short length of red
hookup wire. This wire will be
hooked up to the positive side of
the battery and provide power to
the chip.

• Cut it so it's a little longer than
the length shown.

• Strip the ends to about 1/2 an
inch.

• Tin the ends of the wire.

• Insert the wire into the board as
shown, flip it over, and solder it into
place. If you have any excess, trim

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555 Timer Blinky

Step 7

• Prepare a length of green wire (or
blue or yellow) as shown.

• Insert it into the board as shown.

• Solder it into place and trim any

Step 8

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• Insert a 100 ohm resistor as
shown.

• Solder it into place and trim the
leads.

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555 Timer Blinky

Step 9

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• Insert the second 100 ohm resistor
as shown.

• Solder the resistor into place and
trim the leads.

Step 10

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• Insert the LED as shown.
• You must orient the LED

as shown. The long
(positive) lead needs to be on
the side marked with the +
symbol and the short (negative)
lead on the side with the -
symbol.

• Solder it into place and trim the
leads.

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555 Timer Blinky

Step 11

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• Place the second LED into the
board.
• The long (positive) lead

needs to be on the side
marked with the + symbol and
the short (negative) lead on the
side with the - symbol.

• Solder it in place and trim the
leads.

Step 12

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• Prepare another length of red
jumper wire.

• Place it in the PCB as shown.

• Solder it into place and trim any
excess.

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555 Timer Blinky

Step 13

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• Connect the battery box and blue
wire as shown.

• Remove the batteries
before you solder it into
place.

• Solder the battery box and blue
wire into place and trim away any
excess wire.

Step 14

• Connect the battery and watch it
blink!

• The LEDs blink in an
alternating fashion because
one is connected "backwards".
When the 555 timer's output pin
goes "low", electricity flows through
that LED. The other LED is
connected normally.

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